What an ER doc had to say about Thanksgiving

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Charlie Warzel
@cwarzel
Here's what an ER doc told me about Thanksgiving when I asked yesterday:
Image
9:57 AM · Nov 20, 2020

[Maru Kitteh]

1. Cold hard truth we should be getting through a 200db loudspeaker from

the entire federal along with every single state government.

[durablend]

2. In other words....

"We're screwed"

[Sherman A1]

3. Yup

Pretty Much.

[genxlib]

4. He needs to work on his hyperbole

Every day in November has been seeding nearly hundreds of thousands of new cases.

It will be potentially worse than that

[Ms. Toad]

5. I'm discouraged by the number of folks on DU who are planning a traditional, if smaller,

Thanksgiving meal that involve more than one household.

In theory, we represent those most likely to follow the guidance of science - but I've seen too many saying they will still have a traditional Thanksgiving. Some even looking at what has been advertised as the Thanksgiving risk calculator and thinking that it might actually be safe.

I'm pretty discouraged. I'm wearing a mask at home 24/7 because of risks my family are taking. (The other two were exposed shortly after I announced I would be wearing masks at home because they were taking too many risks - so now we're all quarantined.) A sister-in-law is heading to Florida to visit a friend because they are theoretically staying safe - except that their definition of safe is the same as my spouse's: As long as they keep their mask on until they enter their sibling's house, there is no problem taking it off inside. Eating somehow makes you immune from the disease, etc.

Until we actually stand up to family members and tell them it is not safe, we both affirm their false sense of security and contribute to the spread.

Frankly, right now, it feels like I'm one of few who are making the sacrifices necessary to tide us over until an effective vaccine is available. And a handful of us can't turn the ocean liner of infections arrive.

[Ohiogal]

9. Talking to an acquaintance today

I asked her what they are doing for Thanksgiving... after we discussed how bad the pandemic is.

“Oh, we’re staying safe,” she replied. “We’re just going over to my brother’s house. So there will be just me and my husband and my brother and his wife, and their daughter and her mother in law. That’s only six people!” Okay, I’m thinking. That’s six people from three different households. Did I mention this lady also has MS? They live just over the state line in PA where the cases haven’t been as numerous as Ohio’s. This is what some people consider “staying safe”?

[Ms. Toad]

15. That matches my daughter's, spouse's and her entire family's definition of staying safe.

When I talked to my spouse about dodging the bullet with her aunt's funeral (no one came down with COVID), her response was, "Everyone wore masks at the calling hours and funeral." Which is true (for at least 95% of the people).

BUT her siblings and kids etc. all gathered at their favorite restaurant afterwards. There were people from 3 states (including Texas - which was the hot spot at the moment), and at least a dozen separate households, for more than 2 hours, without masks. I went, but didn't eat or drink anything so I did not have to remove my mask. Got ridiculed for it, and continually prodded by my spouse as to - "Don't you want something to eat?"

So in thinking about the funeral - the potentially superspreader part of it didn't even cross her mind.

That's why I'm wearing a mask 24/7 now, and it's also why both my daughter and spouse have been exposed. Fortunately, their exposure was after I started wearing my mask at home.

[Rorey]

10. I think people should try harder to understand

It's a day on a calendar. It won't kill us to postpone holidays until we're on the other side of this.

I've actually been saying this kind of thing for years. When one of my sons was living on the east coast and trying to get home for Christmas, there was a storm. He left the airport and went home. I told him, "It's a day. We can celebrate it another time. The world won't come to an end if we don't celebrate a holiday on the actual day."

Personally, I'll be spending Thanksgiving entirely on my own, and I don't have a problem with it. The same goes for Christmas. The best thing to do is just to accept it. I plan to make some treats for myself, and watch a movie or two (or more).

The important thing is for us all to survive it. We can celebrate these holidays really big next year as long as we survive.

It'll be ok.

[cwydro]

11. Since the pandemic began, I've seen posts on DU about going out for dinner (inside).

I’ve seen posts by DUers leaving their hotspot state to go to another hotspot for vacation. I’ve seen posts about going to bars, breweries, restaurants, stores, getting on airplanes, etc.

It is indeed discouraging, but not surprising.

[obamanut2012]

14. My entire family live within ten miles of me

This is what we are doing:

I'm picking up the Cracker Barrel Feast at 10:00 am, taking half of it to my parents' place and leaving it on the doorstep. Then, my GF and I will feast like pigs at our place.

My sister and BIL are doing similar.

My nephew and his wife same.

My niece and her husband, same.

We are staying to our own households. Like we have been doing for every celebratory occasion since mid March.

[Ms. Toad]

16. I had intended to do something similar -

Until my daughter and spouse exposed themselves by refusing to wear masks with friends, coworkers, and family members.

My parents have been craving real turkey. (They live in a retirement community that serves turkey breast rolls - or at least something other than actual turkey.) I planned to make a meal and pack it wearing gloves and a mask, drive it out there and have a 2-hour outdoor visit with them. They permit 2 hour outdoor masked visits, and consider the screened patio outdoors - as long as 6' distance can be maintained and the screens are open. (Their community has has 0 residents, and 7 staff illnesses since this started, so they have a pretty good track record of getting it right). We'd go home then and each enjoy our separate meals.

But - now I'm on a 14-day quarantine (required by my job since a residential family member was exposed). Not to mention that it wouldn't feel safe to me to have post-baking food that droplets or aerosolized contaminants from someone known to have been exposed might land on - and share it with anyone not potentially exposed as part of the family.

So we'll eat at home - just the 3 of us, not together since my daughter (with several hours of unmasked exposure) will not yet be past the 14-day risk period. And my parents won't get real turkey.

In addition, normally I bake 20-40 pies to share with the local homeless shelter and the law school where I teach. I'd gotten permisison from each of them to still bake pies (the shelter takes full pies; the school would take pie slices in individually packaged containers) - and I had to cancel both - for the first time in about 30 years. (To the extent the pumpkins survive, after we're past the risk stage I'll bake pies in smaller batches and drop them off at the shelter.)

I also may have to postpone minor surgery - since it is just past the 14-day quarantine but the Cleveland Clinic is shifting to a 21-day exposure inquiry.

Minor inconveniences - but a direct consequence of people (i.e. my family members) deciding a minor inconvenience (or risking offending friends and relatives) was more important than staying healthy (and keeping others healthy).

Not that I'm pissed, or anything.

[obamanut2012]

18. Ugh that sucks

We've already said we will "do" Xmas outside all together at my parents' place for an hour or two -- it will be warm enough here, and they have a big backyard.

You can always do the pies for Valentine's Day or something unexpected.

I go to the gym at 4 am and wear a mask, even though it is almost always just me and my GF. I wear it at work. I wear it unless I'm home and inside. She does, too. Only the cats don't!

[peggysue2]

6. Which is why we're dining alone this year

Help is on the way but we as Americans need to help ourselves. Or as this ER doc says: We're screwed.

[smirkymonkey]

7. K&R

[The empressof all]

8. I usually have a small crowd...Not this year

I will be cooking for four but my daughter will pick up her meal from my doorstep to share with her husband at their home. Although she is on the safer side I still won't let her in my house as she goes into stores for supplies and sees a friend on occasion who works in food service. She understands that it's not worth the risk to me and we've been visiting outside at a distance and doing the daily text and phone check ins. It's sad ...

[Iterate]

12. The time to think about Thanksgiving was last April or May.

But that's what you get with a nation of spoiled children and not enough citizens running the day care.

[Arkansas Granny]

13. My daughter, youngest son and I are preparing different dishes which will all be taken to

my daughters house. She will package up Thanksgiving "picnic" boxes to be delivered to porches of family who would ordinarily come to dinner. It's not what we want, but it's the way it has to be.

[Iterate]

17. Sounds like a very good improvisation

At least everyone is sharing the same meal, even if it can't be the same table. I remember 30 kids and 12 adults in a hot 15 foot kitchen. It was great. Have the pictures to prove it.

I'm sort of a last man standing from the family and living out of the country, so my Thanksgivings are in the past. Not great, but it beats the alternative.

Wrote to my BIL who's like a brother, and they're having their son from college camp out in an empty house that's being renovated, then having a meal on chairs set in an open garage.

I've been trying to get them to think in terms of months, infection rate targets, and progress over the next year in order to have the next Thanksgiving be quasi-normal. It can be done.

Have a good meal and make sure each and every one tells a funny story, one they know to be "true".

[central scrutinizer]

19. I'm more afraid of Black Friday

Crowded malls, people from all over sniffling while jostling for some cheap piece of electronic trash.